Benefits of "low tech" 4WDs for expedition vehicles

[matt s]

Ditto.......
We deliberately chose a NON fly-by-wire vehicle and brought it back to 100% reliability.
Our 1994 OKA has ONE wire that makes the engine go or stop, and I know where that wire is....

Cheers,
Peter

I admit I had to look up OKA. Sweet looking rigs.

[Tony LEE]

I admit I had to look up OKA. Sweet looking rigs.

Not exactly common outside Oz. Fairly rare outside of WA too.

Drive nicely as well as look the part.

[Bandicoot]

I found another great benefit of the Canter on our five week 10000 km cross-Oz trip (just back this afternoon). It has an actual manual pull-up external radio aerial. I get much much better reception from it than I did from the last SUV I had which had a new-fangled, new technology radio "aerial" built into the body somewhere but gave dreadful reception esp on AM which is the main long-distance radio in Oz. The old-fashioned external aerial seems to me to give much better reception especially when in remote areas.
Bandicoot

[BIGdaddy]

great thread.

I prefer the low-tech of my XJ.

OBDI on-board computer is bombproof and simple. It flashes the error codes if you turn the key 3 times...

solid axles, mechanical tcase lever/gears, robust/torquey inline 6 that was improved upon between 1984 and 2001.

One thing I hate is when new cars come out with a brand new motor. Gives me an icky feeling, without fail. Ummm...I don't want to be your guinea pig, thanks. Please beta-test this lump before it gets into my garage.

I'll agree though, that expecially with a jeep, my tendancy towards overbuilding is hard to resist. I just recently decided to upgrade/refresh my suspension, and you can't imagine all the crap I got for deciding to go "only" with 2" and 30" tires.

I personally put a lot of weight into the Camel trophy trucks and what they stand for. They went to the ends of the earth and back, with little more than heavy duty springs, a winch, a snorkel and a roof rack.

I'm hoping to emulate even a little of that glory with my Cherokee.

[DontPanic42]

Can't get much simpler than a '51 Willys 4WD Pickup truck.

[gait]

a small example, and remember I was brought up with simple. Drove the (about to be registered) Canter 100km one day, following day wouldn't start. Turned the key and dashboard warning lights came on, and off, and on ... regularly every half second, accompanied by tick of a relay somewhere.

I naturally assumed it was some sort of diagnostics so I headed for the manual to interpret. Zilch.

After an hour or so of thinking, a few voltage measurements, and a few tests, but nothing conclusive, I got down to basics. Took apart and cleaned all the connections around the batteries. Works fine now.

Just the potential for complicated made it complicated.

[AmericaOverland]

This is the perfect thread for someone like me. I like everything to be kept simple. I got the Honda Element community in an uproar when I suggested "mechanizing" an Element by taking out the power windows and retrofitting it with manual window regulators.

I am very stridently against "drive-by-wire," which is the trend in the automotive industry, and the idea behind it is to make the driver into an airline pilot; someone with no knowledge/authority whatsoever on fixing ANYTHING on the vehicle, perhaps even illegal to do so via some future-enacted legislation ("only mechanics certified as body mechanics, powerplant/driveline engineers, and land electronics technicians have the legal authority as vested by the Federal Land Transportation Authority to repair and maintain consumer vehicles"). This would mean if you try to do a cut-and-turn on your axles, change the light bulbs on your vehicle, do an engine swap, alter your gear ratios for off-road driving and get caught doing it, you could be fined and imprisoned for perhaps 10 years or more, hell, throw the keys away! This is what manufacturers want to do. They want to own us with a "p" (as in "pwned").

This is why I want something like a Scout. I currently have a '77 Scout undergoing restoration, and I want to consider another one or an older one (800 with power steering) as a second vehicle to replace my Toyota Corolla which has been falling apart a little faster than I can keep up with at times.

Given that much older cars have parts that are hard to come by, I see nothing wrong with coming up with hardware changes like changing to a boxy riveted-body style (make it easy to change body parts and change the design as needs change over time - oh, you want to add a camper; clip off the rivets holding in the roof and rivet together your camper extension), changing to a more common engine/transmission pattern with better parts availability, etc.

It is time we took driving back from the manufacturers and the government.

Stephanie

[shahram]

I'm on the fence about this type of conversation. My computer-laden 80 series is still much, much more reliable than my clunk-and-thunk, carbureted Suzuki Samurai. The Samurai is field-repairable, which I think is fortunate, considering how much it breaks down! Not to mention, I'm not the most handy guy on the trail, so even if the Samurai is field-repairable, one still requires the necessary skills and tools with which to work.

[whatcharterboat]

I'm on the fence about this type of conversation. My computer-laden 80 series is still much, much more reliable than my clunk-and-thunk, carbureted Suzuki Samurai. The Samurai is field-repairable, which I think is fortunate, considering how much it breaks down! Not to mention, I'm not the most handy guy on the trail, so even if the Samurai is field-repairable, one still requires the necessary skills and tools with which to work.

Well said mate. You might also need parts to fix your Samuri (we call them "Sierra")as well as the tools. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to temporarily repair an electrical drama by just pulling a fuse or jumping with a piece of wire, swapping a vacuum hose, etc. Sure not always but.......

After an hour or so of thinking, a few voltage measurements, and a few tests, but nothing conclusive, I got down to basics. Took apart and cleaned all the connections around the batteries. Works fine now.

Just the potential for complicated made it complicated.
Yesterday 11:14 PM

Julian, there is a junction box for the main cable connection to the cab on all the FG's, so if you could completely remove the cab and leave the chassis / engine harness in situ. It's located near the front left cab tilt pivot point. They made a better effort to waterproof the box on the new model but that was always the first place to look for electrical dramas (excluding the battery terminals of course). Creek water or even condensate once it gets in tends to be trapped there and corrodes away at the plugs inside.

Regards John.

[Life_in_4Lo]

Not to mention carbs (and drum brakes) are not the greatest on steep inclines offroad.

I think the concept of reliability is good but you don't need to be a luddite to enjoy solid reliability.
To a certain extent, electronics are more reliable than mechanical solutions and the 80 series is a good example.
It's really pretty reliable and to the extent of comparing electronics vs. mechanical, the mechanical parts require freq maintanence while the electronics are lifetiime trouble-free.

I think reliability is a by product of good design. So maybe the focus shouldn't be on bare-bones per se but just good 4x4 design.